Ultima Hearts
by Aoi.117
Summary: It Began with Birth by Sleep. Here's how it Ended. The stunning conclusion to the Kingdom Hearts Saga! no refunds
1. Prelude

**Well DiamondOblivion, Here it is. To anyone else, please review it! Go easy though; it's my first time!**

"Hmph."

The cloaked figure sighed as he hit the beaches. Many famous conflicts had erupted here… and more would come as soon-

"Back so soon?" The armored man-

"Man? Is that so? Hah. Xigbar, you _amuse_ me… I've been called many, _many_ things, but never _man…_

"Whatever." The sharpshooter removed his hood. He sported a scar and an eye patch. His graying hair was tied in a pony tail. He spoke with a surfer voice.

"Listen, it doesn't matter what I call you _demon,_ that is, as long you have it…"

"Of course." The demon removed something from his cloak. It was…

A keyblade.

**Ok, So its kinda dark, but it gets better! Please read and review!**


	2. Armor Testing

"So _these _are the new heartless…" The person in the corner asked. Or stated. The scientist wasn't sure. Either way, his response was the same:

"Yes, Mr. Pete"

"Yes, Mr. Pete, _sir._" The hulking thing explained. The doctor giggled at his joke, while Pete continued his latest rant.

"All the respect we give you guys, all the equipment and facili-tations, and I don't get a shred of respect? Tell me Doctor, is that fair?" Pete complained while accepting a soda from his newest servant.

_What's not fair is that birth defect people assume is your face, _the Doctor thought as he wondered how long this little helper would last. He would not dare say it out loud. Pete _was_ mostly all talk, but the problem was that he could back it up. So, he merely responded with a mumbled apology.

"Either way", the doctor continued, "these are our new battle heartless. They are out fitted with our most powerful dark-armor. They have-"

"Can they stand up to an endless?" Pete asked.

"An Endless?"

_Opps! Maleficent told me not to say ANYTHING! Ooh, if she finds out-_ Pete cut himself off.

"I- I meant a Nobody!" Pete stuttered. "There's no such thing as an Endless! Just Heartless 'scary stories'! Heh, I'll bet if there were, thins thing could send 'em straight to- well you know where! I mean, could they?"

"Yes, sir, and more…" The doctor pushed a random sequence of buttons. Right on cue, a huge gate in the chamber below opened. Three heartless appeared. Their armor was a strange, translucent quality. One was wearing red and black armor, another yellow and black, and the last, blue and black (The Doctor knew that it referred to their names). The armor was light and seemed to be almost a part of the super-heartless. It had futuristic look to it, and was more like an exo-suit. As for their heads, they were also covered in a helmet. From what could be seen, they were about four inches thick and were like rectangles with dark patches for eyes on the sides, and with the front-top point cut off. On the other side three Nobodies appeared: normal Dusks. The doctor didn't have time to recite his prepared speech. The two sides lunged at each other. The Nobodies struck hard and fast, but the heartless stuck first. All three were gone in les then a second.

"Whoa…" Pete couldn't tell what had happened. The heartless were holding- no, it couldn't be… Keyblades?

Then he found the mistake. "Hey, what's the big idea? The blue one just sat there!" Sure enough, Blue was sitting there, looking… confused…

"A rebel. To be expected from first generation. Oro, Rouge," the doctor spoke to the yellow and red heartless. "Destroy the rebel."

Suddenly, so fast that neither Pete nor the doctor (or the endless spy posing as Pete's servant) could see, the heartless sped forward at the speed of light. It disappeared into a "hole" in midair. The wake of the explosion of force destroyed Oro and Rouge.

The heartless materialized in a forest he dident recognize. He thought, of all things at that moment, of his name.

_Blue. A nice name. Not for him._

_Dago. That was nice._


	3. Introductions

"But, Mom..." I whined. Our (or my mom's) Range Rover pulled into the drive-way. Ahead lay my worst fear…

"Hmph. I don't wanna go to school!"

"But, honey, think about it; some of your old friends will go to this high school, and it will give you a chance to make lots of new ones- wait! On second thought, _lots_ of your old friends will come here! It's closest to town, and it's big!" My mom tried to convince me. As if I was going to stand for that.

"So?"

Boom. I had talked back to my mom, and she wasn't going to stand for _that_.

"Aldrich! You are going to your new school, and you will like it!" My mom's patience had run dry, and she practically _pushed_ me out. She took a deep breath, and calmed down. "Ok, I'll pick you up here at 3:00, ok?

"Yes, mom."

"And ask your teacher about the lunch program."

"Yes, mom."

"Be good…"

"Yes…"

"And will you get in trouble?"

"Yes, mo- I mean, no mom!"

"That's a good boy!" She called as she sped away in her 2012 Range Rover…

Before I start, I should clear up a few things. Yes, my name is Aldrich. No, my mom wasn't drunk. Yes, today is September 22, 2012, one week after my old school, Artesia Elementary/Middle School burned down (although it's _supposed_ to be Middle school, good-old AEMS also had a ninth grade. Go figure. My mom was probably right about most of my friends going here to "Toride City Municipal _High_ School" I still liked my old school. And, in case your wondering where this adventure begins, this is beautiful Toride Island, located… out in the middle of the ocean, the "world's most industrialized island, a few (hundred) miles west of Tokyo, Japan. Despite it being a US territory. Despite its high Hispanic and British (?) populations, looking for betterment (my mom one of them) (Hispanic I mean) (Not that the British aren't cool) (we get BBC instead of CNN) (Although-

"Hey! What are you- wait, Ald?

Yes, my friends call me Ald. Yes, I like it. Wait a minute-

"Hey!" I called out. Standing there, white hair flowing in the breeze, was my best friend, Rick. I ran up to him. "God, I was wondering when you'd show up!"

"Hey, can't you look for me? I've been standing inside forever!"

"How long is forever?

"Only a few years younger than our home-room teacher; His name is Mr. Brown. I swear he looks a hundred-thirty years old!"

At around that time kids were milling around the entrance. They had that "noob" look on their face, so I assumed they were new here. Then, I saw someone I thought I'd never see. She was wearing her hair in a pony tail, and had her trademark glasses.

"Dang. That fat kid blocked her view of you." Rick complained.

"Come on! You bugged me all year long last year. She said yes when I asked her to the end of the year dance. Now drop it."

"So? _Asuka _said yes, and she had a great time."

"Whatever. I've known her as long as I've known you. We're just friends."

No sooner than I said those words, "the fat kid" moved, and she had a clear shot of me. "Why" I asked God, who chose not to pick up the phone.

"I'll leave you two alone." With that, Rick left.

"Hey, I'll-!" I tried to call as she walked out next to me.

"What's wrong? Afraid I'll kill you at soccer, like last year?"

"Only because I tripped that guy!" I retorted.

"Yeah, _Twice!" _She informed me.

"Whatever" I sighed, defeated.

"Wow, new school, huh?"

"Yeah…" I looked up at the austere building.

"Not for you! You'll slack off like always!" She practically screamed.

"Well not if you warn them!" Then, the bell rang.

"Well, here's to a new adventure…"

No kidding…

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The taxi pulled up into the alley.

"You sure this is it, buddy?", the driver asked, the heavy Afgani accent evident. "This place is dangerous, you know. East L.A., you know…"

"I'm fine," the man in a black cloak said. His red hair was spiked, and looked… like fire. "I'm from around here."

"Hey, you want me to wait up for you?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. The name's Axel, and I _know _this place…"

The man's eyes widened. Either he was untouchable, or… he decided not think about it, instead asking God to protect the (hopefully) innocent man.

"You alright, Dawg?" Axel looked to his right. There stood a big man, 6' 4" maybe, African-American. Easily a gangster. His accomplices stepped out behind dumpsters. "Oh, thought you were a Shark. Our enemies. Enemies of the Jets.

"Sharks? Jets? You sound like some bad musical gang."

The mans expersion turned icy. "What? Do you think you're untouchable, you"-

He never finished. He caught on fire as Axel made a fist. "Yes, I do."

"SLIT! The others screamed. The leader fell, passed out.

Axel kneeled and raided the man 'till he got his prize: a Motorola VIZR-2, newest model. He called 911 and hung up after eight seconds. They would trace it and find the unconscious man.

"Aww… how sweet. But wait, is Axel going soft?" A voice asked in mock confusion. Xigbar stepped out of a door.

"Yes… maybe I should finish what I started…" an eerily calm man with and X-shaped scar and purple hair followed Xigbar.

"More unnecessary violence, Saix?" asked Axle.

"Yes." Saix replied, emotionlessly.

"Axel, set him afire."

"WHAT?!?" Axel yelled.

"Do it." With a pang of remorse, Axel complied.

"Coward" Saix stated

"Calm down boys. It's us four, so we should get along." Xigbar said

"Four?" wondered Saix.

"Oh, I should explain. While on Radiant Garden, I found the most amazing little girl…

One final person stepped out the door in the wall. A girl with dull pink hair, which fell down her back and shoulders in layers.

"I'd like you two to meet Roxan. She is Marluxia's daughter, and she's considering killing you both. Or joining the Reorganization. Either one.

Saix apparently had better things to do, 'cause he warped out of there. Roxan went inside, satisfied with her "performance".

"Good night, Axel. Get rid of that mercy." Xigbar told him as he walk inside.

Axel walked back to the man. He put out the _clothes_ he had lit. the man was wearing boxers, but he was fine. "You got of easy…" Axel informed the man, who was coming to. Axel warped as the cops arrived.

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Near Pluto, En route to Earth

**//Are we there yet?/ **The frail looking entity asked in its almost _subliminal _voice (if it could be called that; there was _no _sound), as he gazed upon a planet Humans called "Pluto".

"Nearly, Exalted One; two more days…"The captain of the ship was annoyed, but wouldn't let the Highest floating before him know that…

//**Good**. **Make land fall here on this demoted ice ball, make a base, and christen it "High base of Chaos And Order", after myself…/**

The Endless leader, Chaos And Order, fell asleep. The captain stopped the flagship, ready to dock.

_If only he had picked something closer to light… _the captain thought…

Far away, the_ New Horizons _probe, launched by NASA, arrived near Pluto three years early due to a grav-boost. Its camera saw a _2 dimensional _craft, made entirely out of light, "dock" with the planet. It was the first warning. It was the last.


	4. Blue

_Ugh… where am I?_

Blue awoke with a start as the truck hit a pothole. _Oh yeah… _Blue remembered.

_I had picked out a name (Blue), walked around for a while, and passed out…_

Blue frantically checked himself to make sure he was OK. _Same head, same armor, same helmet- hey!_ Blue tore off his helmet and held it. It had glass circles for his eyes, painted teeth, and some sort of hole on the back. The teeth were painted to look like a snarl. _No wonder I'm in trouble. _Blue threw aside the threatening helmet. He turned to his surroundings. He was in a truck, in some sort of cage. No food, no water, nothing except a mirror. Blue studied himself closely. The sides of his face were dominated by two eyes, about an inch in diameter, and they were… blue. He wondered if he had a mouth, and, on cue, a crack formed above what must've been his chin. He opened more, and found two rows of teeth, the front ones sharp, the back flat. He was satisfied with his head.

His body was another matter. After removing his helmet, his head seemed small, and his body huge. It was scary. Blue touched his shoulder-pad. After a few seconds, it came off with a "hisssssss". He tried again and again, revealing a lighter more _form-fitting_ armor underneath (if he even _had_ a form). He liked it. The new armor had boots that were comfortable, didn't look as heavy, and were a nice shade of dark indigo. His legs had retained their dark blue, and were skinny, not at all like the old, bulky ones. His arm sleeves tapered _up,_ leaving a comfortable space for his wrist. His torso and thorax was lighter too. He no longer scared himself.

_Excellent. The next person that messes with me won't see it coming._

Right on cue, the truck lurched to a stop, knocking Blue down. After putting on a belt to weigh him down, he looked through the window/air hole to see a young woman with green hair arguing with two men.

"Sorry, ma'am. We aren't letting anyone through without checking the"- brute number one said.

"That doesn't matter! This is for express delivery to the Sanatorium! We could have a cure for people everywhere!" The girl said, in a tough voice.

"Says who?" Asked number two.

"Says me!" She responded.

"Sucks for you!" #1 cried.

Blue could take it no longer. _If only I could warp!_ He thought. Then, he realized something. "I spoke!" He exclaimed as he escaped from his prison.

"What the he"- the bandits cried in unison. Out of somewhere (or nowhere…)

Blue drew a light weapon, unlike anything he had used before.

"A keyblade!" He yelled as he brought it down on the thieves. One limped away, onto a small vehicle, already carrying the other. They sped away, hopefully for good. "HA! Take that, you little"- In a corner, he saw the woman, appalled at the display.

"Oh… You must want to 'arrest' me again..." Blue understood as he climbed into his cage.

"Wait, what?" She was confused. She had never heared of a heartless surrendering… Much less turning itself in…

_Maybe… _she wondered_ the Doctor will know…_

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_Rick was right… this place sucks…_ I thought as he sat in homeroom. It was the second day at his new school, and he was bored out of his mind.

"God, just kill me." I whispered. Then I had an idea…

"Um, Mr. Brown?" I asked "the husk" as Syowa had called him.

"Yes, Aldrich?" He responded.

"May I go to the infirmary? I feel terrible." I asked politely.

"Of course. Let me write you a note so you won't get in trouble."

_Wow, _I thought. _That was easy…_ I thought as I ran to freedom.

When I got there, I looked around. No one, except…

"Hey Ald." Syowa told me.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I inquired.

"Head ache. You?"

"Recessive boredom."

"Hmmm…. I had that once." Syowa joked.

"Nice." I stated as I took a nap…


	5. The Day Before

_Rick was right… this place sucks…_ I thought as I sat in homeroom. It was the second day at my new school, and I was bored out of my mind.

"God, just kill me." I whispered. Then I had an idea…

"Um, Mr. Brown?" I asked "the husk" as Rick had called him.

"Yes, Aldrich?" He responded.

"May I go to the infirmary? I feel terrible." I asked politely.

"Are you sure? I thought you would particularly like this lesson." We were learning the story of the battle of Puebla, and how Mexican villagers defeated the French military(the world's best armed at that time) by using less technology, but better tactics and demoralizing the enemy.

No offense, but that wasn't exactly at the top of my list of priorities. Napping was.

"I feel like crap. My head hurts and I want to throw up…" I insisted, clutching my gut for emphasis. A little "over the top", but perfect.

"Of course. Let me write you a note so you won't get in trouble."

_Wow, _I thought. _That was easy…_ I thought as I ran to freedom.

When I got there, I looked around. No one, except…

"Hey Ald." Syowa greeted me.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I inquired.

"Head ache. You?"

"Excessive boredom."

"Hmmm…. I had that once." Syowa joked.

"How did you get rid of it?" I wondered, predicting the answer.

"Who says I did?" She responded

"Nice." I stated as I took a nap…

"Huh, what?!" I asked as I awoke with a start. _Nothing over here…_ I told myself as my head hit the stained glass pillow.

_STAINED GLASS PILLOW??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?_

"WHAT THE-?" I yelled. I jumped up. Around me there was… nothing. I was surrounded by dark clouds and….

Stained glass skyscrapers.

_Hmmm… I should go easy on the Hot Pockets… _ I thought. Then, three weapons appeared before me. A sword. A shield. And a wand. _Whoa! Going Kingdom Hearts on me, huh?_ I walked over to each one. The had a weird _blue_ rust on them. "Yeah, I've played this one, God. How about some Halo?" I called.

Apparently, God hadn't picked up, 'cause…

Nothing happened.

"What the…" Behind me something else happened. A weird shape floated in midair. A blue ghostly hand.

My Hand.

I leaned in and pressed my palm against its palm. Suddenly, my hand _absorbed _the ghost hand.

And a Heartless, Nobody, and _strange light thing_ materialized behind me.

"Ok, ok… Uh… Restart? Reload?"

They pounced.

"OH SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I ran over to the sword. _Oh yeah… you can't pick again…_

Then I grabbed the sword, and struck the Heartless. _I guess I can break the rules!_ I thought/cheered as I picked up the shield.

I slashed it again. Then, a white blur flashed by and head-butted my shield. "Blur, huh?" I told it as I brought down the sword. Hard. The Nobody was last. And hardest. It was almost like cloth. It was way out of reach. When I tried to run for it, it dodged. _I wish I could reach it!_ I extended my arm, and the ghost thing _extended_ to catch it. "NICE!!!" I yelled in triumph as I throttled it. As I did a victory dance, a path made of –you guessed it– stained glass appeared. I walked up it. Then I realized something. _I WAS FREAKING HIGH UP!!! _If I had fallen, well, I won't go into that. Strangely enough, I had a weird calming sensation. I was no longer scared…

Another platform. This one was different. In the center, was an _altar_. Up here I noticed a weird _draft…_

Then I heard it.

"I've been expecting you, keyblade master…" A strange disembodied voice spoke.

"What? Who are you?" I yelled into the empty winds.

"I am your guide. But, you can't have a master without his key…" As he spoke, a keyblade appeared in mid air. It was unlike any other blade before it. Its blade was like the one in KH, but it had no crown on it. The shaft was thinner, and longer. The handle was like a half-rectangle, making it easier to hold. I grabbed.

"_Forward unto Dawn? _Unless…" A strange, crystal thing appeared in front of me. It reminded me of a seashell I had seen in a museum once. A nautilus. "Oh! I'm sorry. You're not"- He broke of, trying to think of something- "Aaron Beowulf?" He inquired, sounding surprised.

"No, I'm Aldrich Cordello." I corrected him.

"Oh. Then prepare for Paradise." He said as he disappeared.

Apparently, preparing for Paradise involved an earthquake.

And a massive marionette.

Before me stood at least 60 feet of solid darkness. Hands, feet and a head materialized. In the center, an "X" made of black wood locked as the lumbering giant began walking. _Roll right! _Something told me. _But I can't roll!!! _But by then, its hand had come down… where I was standing seconds before. I started hacking at the pale wire connecting the armored (think "medieval" armor) hand to the center. _Jump!_ I jumped, avoiding the hand that tried to trip me. I turned and slashed once, killing the hand. The huge puppet wouldn't have that. He took his other hand, and tossed me into midair. _This is it. _I thought. _No! Use your hand!_ My voice told me. I remembered my hand. I grabbed the key in it and flung it, boomerang style. As it flew at the puppet's head, the ghostly hand flowed with it. I hung, like a doll, in air. I saw its hand go up and protect its X. Not that that helped. A massive explosion followed. I landed (perfectly) and grabbed the key. Puppet had reattached his hand and was steering clear of me. The X was cracked. I laughed and pointed _Forward unto Dawn _(Keyblade for those who weren't paying attention), gun style. Like something out of Star Wars, it fired lasers.

"WHOA!!!" I yelled as I dealt major damage. The X shattered. The creature screamed.

"CLOUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It screamed. The X wasn't the only thing that shattered. The skyscraper turned upside down and fell. I-(Yeah, I'm not afraid to admit it!)- Screamed as I fell. As I tumbled, I finally saw on the design on the floor.

It was a vaguely familiar girl in a Hollister hooded sweat shirt…

"AH!!!!" I woke up. I was back in the infirmary.

"What?!" Syowa asked, also awakened by my scream.

"Huh?"- I said. I thought clearly about my dream. "Uhhh… Nightmare?" I tried.

"Oh. Ok. And, by the way, its lunch time." She seemed unfazed by my startled awakening.

"Great! Wanna go down there and…"-

"Eat?" She asked. "Yeah. That'd be great…" She said as she signed out of the infirmary.

"Alright!" I cheered. Then I remembered. I didn't sign out of the infirmary. "You go ahead. I gotta sign out."

"Okay." She called as she rounded the corner. "See you there!"

I couldn't help but notice her Hollister hoodie…

"So…" My good friend, Mark said. "You skipped the first half of the day and went to the nurse's office, where you dreamt you were in Kingdom Hearts?"

"And that _Syowa _is a Princess of the Heart?" My other good friend, Kiyoye, asked.

"Yep. And please say _infirmary._ It sounds cooler." I responded.

There were _nine "_good" friends sitting around our table in, of all places, the library. There was:

Mark, whose "physically challenged".

Marisol, Mark's twin, who _loves _to draw (seriously, she scares me)

Kikyoye, Kiyoko's twin, middle eastern

Kiyoko, Kikyoye's twin, also middle eastern

Sharon, your typical, do the right thing, no such thing as, A++ student

Ernie, Who you just can't describe.

Carlos, who had a really bad haircut. And ugly jeans. And ugly sweater.

Lily, Short

James, who just arrived with Brian

Brain, who just arrived with James.

Wait, that's _ten!_

"Wait, what? What happened?" James asked as still another person, Ferdinand, arrived.

"Something dumb. Aldrich's always having dumb dreams. No offense" Ferdinand explained without emotion.

"No, Ald was explaining his Kingdom Hearts-themed dream." Mark responded.

"I was right." Ferdinand persisted

"Wait _Kingdom Hearts?_ Number one game in Japan Kingdom Hearts? My cousin has that" Brian said "Cool game."

"Yes, and wee all know that almost everyone owns a copy of Kingdom Hearts IV, or at least the movie." Ernie commented

"I've seen the movie." James continued. "I didn't get it."

"It's like, Disney combined with Final Fantasy and some other stuff." Marisol informed him.

"Disney?! It is weird!" Carlos exclaimed.

"NO ITS NOT!!!" Ernie, Marisol, Mark, and Brain Exclaimed.

"YES IT IS!!!" Lily, Carlos, Kiyoye and Ferdinand yelled back.

"NO!!!" They retaliated.

"YES!!!" They fought back.

"NO!!!"

"YES!!!"

"NO!!!"

"YES!!!"

"GUYS!!! SHUT UP!!!" I ended the discussion.

"I guess its ok. The story line is deep and gameplay is easy. The crossover is pretty lame, but is pulled off effortlessly" Kiyoko suggested.

…

….

…..

"I agree." James agreed.

We looked at them in confusion. Neither had ever showed much interest for video games.

"WHAT?!?!? We had to review things we never tried for English last week. You are all into that, so we picked that!" Kiyoko told us.

"Oh..." Marisol sighed

"Now it makes sense." Sharon exclaimed

"Big time" Mark finished.

"We never turned it, huh, Kiyoko? I mean, schools don't burn down anymore! Come on, who do they think we are?" James called out as he, Ferdinand, and Brian walked away.

"He is right…" Mark wondered

"What do you mean?" Sharon asked.

"I mean, the school didn't burn down. Why would they tell us that we got that day off? And remember those weird guys the day before? They had those contamination suits. And they looked like they were setting something up…" Mark explained.

"I suppose…"

"GUYS!!! I'm trying to do my homework!!!!!" I yelled out at them.

Mark looked at me through his glasses. "That's due next period. You can't finish.

"Yuh-huh! In fact…" I paused as I scribbled in the last sentence. "I just did!"

"Congrats. You know, you really should consider doing your homework- oh I don't know- at home!!!" Kiyoye chided me.

"See, I got this theory. If I do-say- spelling homework- before a big test, the information will be fresh in my mind. That way, whatever I don't do, I make up for on the test!" I explained.

"Sure that's not an excuse to be lazy?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said as the bell to get to class rang.

"Oh look, a bunch of losers, lost on their way to class…" A strange voice said.

The only way I could describe the voice is _angelic_. It rolled up and down with each syllable. It was beautiful. The voice came with a body. It had celestial blue (I could say sky blue, but celestial sounds cooler) hair, and was skinny. Real skinny. He had eyes to match, and was wearing a black school blazer, with a hood made of a shiny black cloth. He pulled of the look flawlessly.

Did I care? Not really.

"The only loser _I_ see here is you." I responded flawlessly.

He chuckled. "Nice. Good to see not everyone here is a retard." He looked at Mark. "Or a cripple."

"Jerkass! I'll-" I started to yell as another voice pierced the hallway.

"Hahaha… That's sad." The girl appeared around the corner. She was about five foot two, shorter than the rest of us. Her hair was rusty-brown and reached to her waist. She was wearing a knee-length blue dress, and brown tights. This one I knew.

"Hello, Reiko…" Kiyoko addressed her. Reiko's father was the sole owner of the YANA industries tower in downtown Toride. And he named it YANA?!?!?!!?!?!?!

"What a dork." Sharon whispered.

"So are you" She casually said.

"Yeah, I'd love to stay and kill neurons…" I said, regaining my senses after Mr. Blue Hair's cripple crack, "But we've got better things to do than sit around poking fun at others-" At shot a glance at his blazer, "_misfortune_, but we gotta go wear real clothes with our real friends." I said, as we begun walking away.

"Yeah, and your jackets ugly!" Carlos screamed, ruining the "3rd degree burn" moment.

Reiko screeched with delight. "Don't listen to those jerks," I consoled Mark. "Hopefully, they'll be dead soon." Mark laughed along with everyone else. Simple, but effective

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"So…" I told Rick as we reclined on couches and munched on cereal. "How's the wife and kids?"

We were at the weirdest hang-out ever--a cereal bar. According to the poster behind me, this company had started in some town named "Whittier" in California. Being close to a high school, it made millions and spread like wildfire. We were in the one closest to our old school, and most of our homes.

"One: Me and Camilla are only boyfriend and girlfriend." Rick said.

"Yes, but you said you l-"

"Quiet, Ald." He retorted as he chugged (and choked on) his cereal.

We left shortly after that. "So, you're going home?" He asked.

"Yeah, no one there but my mom and my brother." I told him.

"Oh, cause-" He was cut off by a noise at the end of the alleyway we were standing by.

"It's the husk…"

Yes, it was our teacher, Mr. Brown. He was arguing with what looked like…

A government official.

"They arrive at 12:05 tomorrow! Do you know what would happen if they arrive before? Or after? All that work? And the Russians? When they don't arrive… We have enough problems trying to ride out the first wave. It hasn't even come! Now, remember what The King said? And- and that "Riku guy? What-" Mr. Brown stammered.

"Enough! Listen to yourself! They both said if we could ride out the first wave, we would be fine when they got here." The agent said. "We have to believe. Then the world can."

"Turned into a little poster boy, huh?" He looked up. "Whatever. The Heartless will get you. I'm going to Hikowa's. He'll know. YANA is worthless." Brown responded.

"Shit." Rick whispered. He had scared a rat, who screeched and gave away our position.

Didn't matter. By the time they turned around, we were half way home.

"Hey, Ald!" My brother, Ed greeted me.

"Ald! You're home!" My mom said. "Are you ok? Do you want something to eat?"

"Uh… no thanks." I said.

"Awww, come on! She made meatloaf!" Ed said.

"No…" I responded as I entered my room.

_What was going on? I had that weird dream. Now this… _I thought as I got in bed. _ Whatever. I'll know at twelve 'o five tomorrow…_


	6. Ignition

**Me: Here's another serving of Fanfic-goodness, hot and ready to be enjoyed!**

**Sora: Thank you, sir! May I have another?**

**Me: Not on your life, buster.**

"ALD!!!" My mom yelled into my room. "Get up now, or else you'll be late!!!"

"What? It Saturday!" I yelled back.

"Oh, is it?" She asked.

"NO!!!" My little brother screamed. "GET UP!!!"

_Dang._

I got up and ran to the closet. Then I decided to take a bath. After making sure I was squeaky clean, I went back and put on a pair of jeans, and an all white t-shirt. I ran into my DCs, and grabbed my backpack. Then I remembered most of yesterday. I went into my room and got my Ipod and a watch. I stopped to take the memory card out of my PS4. _If the world is gonna end, I might as well have something to keep myself busy…_

After the breakneck speed drive to my brother's school, we took the tunnel to my own. However, as I was exiting the car, my mom held me up.

"Ald…" She started.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Listen…" She continued. "I want you to know that if I've been hard on you lately, it's because I care about you."

_Great, now what did I do? _I thought.

"Anyways… I know you'll need it for school… and this will mean no new video games for a while but…" She reached into the glove compartment… and pulled out…

"An I15 Mac notebook?" I stared at the laptop. "Thank you! Thank you Mom!!!" I hugged her.

"Ohh… You're welcome! Now get to school, you can't be late!!!" She called as she sped away…

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"ALD!!!" Syowa yelled at me from across the table. We were in Math class, (One period before lunch, and 26 minutes before 12:05) and we were working on something having to do with tangerines.

"I already told you. I hate tangerines!" I yelled back.

"Hey, it's tangent. And stop arguing." Rick whispered to me from behind, where he sat with his partner, er… GIRLFRIEND.

"So? It's not like we'll use this…" I told him. I turned back to Syowa. "Oh well, it could be worse. What time is lunch again?"

"12 o'clock. So… did you here what's going on in Tokyo? Their protesting that 'North Korea assassination' plot thing. You know, the dictator or something." Syowa asked. "You didn't hear about that?"

"No. You did. You're father goes there everyday." I said.

"Whatever. I hardly see him anymore. When I visit him, he sends me to my uncle's." She said.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He's obsessed with this project down at the weird tower. And he keeps watching old Disney movies…"

"Wait, what?" I asked, perplexed. At that time, however, our math teacher felt compelled to interrupt class.

"Excuse me. I said EXCUSE ME!!! Thank you. As I was saying, we have one last new student." She said. At that moment, all the original kids from class groaned, while the new ones (us) blinked and wondered. "His name is Maximilian- is it Max?" She asked someone outside the door.

"It's _Sorin…"_ an angelic voice said… owned by Mr. Blue Hair "Max is my middle name."

"Ah, Sorin Beowulf." She ended.

_Damn… _I thought.

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The next 20 minutes passed by uneventfully, until…

"Hey Ald." A voice behind me whispered.

Behind me stood a zombie. He had sunken and blood shot eyes. His blond hair fell to his eyes. He had khakis on, and a red polo shirt.

"Jeez… is it laundry day again, Matthew?" I asked my good, if paranoid, friend.

"Yeah. Did you hear about the-"

"Japan thing? Yeah. So?" I cut him off.

"No! I mean that they're gonna rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem!" He yelled.

"Oh, yeah… didn't Mr. Brown say something about that?" I tried.

"Oh, my- It means the world will end soon!!!" He screamed.

"Don't scream!" I screamed

"Hey, Ald, have you seen Camilla?" Rick asked as he appeared behind me.

"Yeah, she went- wait, what time is it?" I asked.

He checked his watch. "You have a watch, check. Whatever, it's" …Rick stopped. "12:03"

"DAMN!!!" I screamed

"GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!" I yelled as I entered the library.

"What? What? What?" Asked Lily, Mark and Kiyoye, who were already there.

"The world ends in-" I checked my own watch "One minute!!!!!!!! At 12:05!!!!!!!!!"

"But it's 12:00!" Mark said

"No, it's 12:01." Lily piped

"Guys, it is 12:07!!!!!!! I set mine to the TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kiyoye ended the discussion.

"Oh. Well, this is awkward." I said.

"YOU"RE TURNING RED!!!!!!" Mark yelled.

"Wait, the world is gonna end?" Lily said.

"No, I mean-" I stopped "Does it seem _dark_ to you?"

"No- wait, yes…"Kiyoye said squinting her eyes.

This wasn't normal darkness. All the light were on, but the room seemed _sad_… The corners of the room were creeping, and the room was filled with liquid terror.

_So sad……… You never started to eat._

As I heard the voice laugh, all the lights went out. For the first time, I noticed a quite song in my ear…

_Comin'__ out the remedy_

_We're losin' energy, doctor  
Blow me a kiss, blow me away, blow it all up  
You're a puddin' plum  
Cruise, kept movin'' past, don't sweat, no need for distress as we lose  
It happened much too fast to avoid the mess  
_

It was some song on my iPod. For the first time, I appreciated the nice quality of music the folks at Apple provided.

Then the world ended.

"Guys…" I started to say "This isn't regular darkness. This is _Advanced Darkness…" _The ground started to shake.

"HIT THE DECK!" some kid in the back. Others simply screamed.

"RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

We all got out, and met the others in the hall. Except, there were more people than ever. Among them was Matthew, and most of Rick's other friends.

"Where's Rick?" He asked.

"What? How should I know? He was looking for- oh, shit." I said.

"He's looking for his girlfriend." I said as I ran away, praying to God I could stay upright in the constant shaking.

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Blue awoke. He was no longer in a cage. In fact he was in a very comfortable bed. He remembered the conversation from when he arrived. The girl with green hair- whose name was Marissa- explained to the Professor what had happened on the road. The Prof. seemed worried, but he _said_ he was relived that there was "one on their side". What this meant, Blue did not know. He didn't care. He was sleeping in a warm bed, and had just eaten a delicious liquid- what did they call it? - Soup. His hand went to his hair and-

He didn't have hair before. Now he did.

He got up, panicking. He went to the strange room the Professor always had to use, and turned on the light. He stared at the sight. The boy looking at him in the reflection wasn't him. He had medium long hair, which fell into his eyes in curly locks. His skin was dark olive but still he had his ocean blue eyes.

"What is going on?" His mouth said. Blue wished it were really his.

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"RICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed. I had just run to the auditorium. Marisol had told me once that there was something weird about it. That felt right about now. Weird felt right… maybe it was the smell of sulfur I was sure they could take care of themselves. _Whose gonna take care of me?_ I thought…

"IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He scream-whispered. He was at the bottom of the upstairs balcony. Then he made a "shhhh…" motion with his hands. He pointed to two men with black cloaks, _dooooooooooooown_ on the stage. We could barely hear them.

"So, that's why you ran? Axel asked Saix

"Yes. You have to stop her. If she does it, the Re-Organization is doomed!" Saix said, exasperated. He stopped and turned to us. "Hear that! If you see her, kill her!!!!!!!!!"

"Who?" I asked. Both Axel and Rick gave me the noob look. Saix warped. Axel stayed.

"Who wants to have some fun?!" He asked. His chakarm appeared, only with a bit more, boom. "Whoa…" He said. The temperature instantly went up.

"Rick, I have an idea. This room is airtight." I said, thinking quickly.

"So?"

"FIND ALL THE GAS PUMPS, AND THOSE FIRE THINGIES WILL DO THE REST!!! Just- keep-him-cool." I said, handing him a fire extinguisher.

"That plan is psychotic enough to work." He said. "Here." He handed me a metal pipe. "Don't die." We went our separate ways.

First things first. I went and tore an escape plan of the wall. Instead, there was a plasma screen was hung on. There were three gas pumps in the auditorium. The first was in the commentary box. I ran up there and stared into the window. Then out of no where- Boom! The Nobody's weapon flew at me. "Opps!' He yelled as he narrowly missed me. I didn't stop. I went faster. I found the pump under a table. I yelled as I broke through the rusty metal.

"HA! Not everything is top-notch here!" I yelled in victory.

I looked at my map. The next one had a big X on it, leaving only one, right at the top of the rafters behind the stage. After a long climb down, leaped on to the stage. I tripped. However, I was helped up… Axel.

"You Ok?" He asked with mock concern.

"I was born ok!" I replied as Rick foamed him down.

I ran up the stairs and unlocked the last pump. However, the force knocked free a loose bolt in the rafter. As I fell, I saw…The Metal Pipe Transform!!!

"_Forward!"_ I exclaimed as the now familiar Keyblade latched onto a niche in the wall. As I slid down the wall, a _ping! _ emanated from the digi-map.

"_Self-repair of pump 3 complete"_ What_?! These things heal themselves?! _ I thought.

I ran over to the last pump, which was located by the door. As I reached it, something came over me. Instead of bashing it into submission, I simply lifted the Key, and opened it.

"RICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled out "Lets Go!!!!"

"Rick's not here!" Axel yelled out as he ran to me.

"Just go!" Rick yelled to me. I hated myself for it, but…

I got out of there.

"NOW I'm pissed!" Axel whispered to Rick.

"Damn you, Stupid Pyro." Rick retorted.

"Heh… I'm gonna enjoy this, bastard." Axel said as he ignited his chakarm.

Ever see those pictures of the atomic bomb detonating in Hiroshima? Yeah, imagine that, but smaller. That was the auditorium.

"What the hell? Mark asked as he came from behind.

I only raised my two fingers in salute.

Then the catastrophic shaking started again.

"Guys! Me and Rick fought Axel!!!"

"Cool! But you coulda been killed!" Kiyoko said, worried.

"Yeah, I know!-" I stopped as a thunderbolt hit the ground. "Oh, man-" As soon as I said that, _more _Nobodies appeared. "Crap!" I heard Ernie yell. Two Dusks headed our way. "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I charged at the two, helped by the Keyblade. However, I was not alone. Sharon, Kiyoye, Kiyoko, Carlos, and Mark all started attacking with whatever they had on hand. Books, Tennis rackets, the occasional designer shoe. "Guys!!!" I started. The ground gave another sinister shake. "God…"

What was once the auditorium was now a huge black hole, and it sucked. "If only we could turn-" I stopped as the wind picked up speed "- it off!"

"But you can…" The creepy Mr. Brown stood there. "You opened the gas valve. You can close the black hole."

"ALD!!!!!!!!" I heard a scream behind me. It was my old friend Syowa. "Oh my God. Listen, Camilla's almost dead out their; where's Rick?"

"Rick's-" The truth sunk in at last. "Not- feeling well."

"Ald! You must go!" Mr. Brown said

"Go where?" Syowa asked.

I held off. What would I say? _Hey guys, sorry it's the end of the world, and I practically lived all my life for this moment, but I gotta go throw myself into black hole and hope for the best. Good luck! _

"Hey guys, sorry it's the end of the world, and I practically lived all my life for this moment, but I gotta go throw myself into black hole and hope for the best. Good luck!" I yelped out.

A few seconds passed. Even the wind seemed to stop to ponder the suicidal meaning of my-

"Here." Syowa thrust out her hand at me. I took it, and inside was-

"Your luck charm bracelet?" Isn't this, like your most valued possession?

"Yeah- well it's just half. I have the other. You know, you can give it back…um next…time I see you…" She avoided my gaze, and then frowned at me. "And don't give me that 'torn apart, atom by atom' stuff. We have that in science."

"Thanks. This means…" I tried to hold back tears.

"Well, this is it." Mark said, and on cue, I was crush by the biggest bear hugs a living thing could survive.

"Ah, guys, I can't die if I'm already dead!" I exclaimed as they let go.

"Then go!" You gotta close that thing!" They half-laughed, half-cried at me.

"Well, here goes…

I walked up to the massive crater, scared out of my mind. "Well, here goes something." I said to myself. I lifted the Keyblade, and jumped into the hole. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed as I fell into the hole. Then, suddenly, the Keyblade did its stuff. With a huge ripping noise, the hole was closed, and the world was saved.

The End

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**(Gotcha)**

"So, I changed into a HUMAN?!?!?!?!" Blue said, at last understanding what had happened. Marissa and the Professor sat around him, inspecting him (Although Blue could have sworn Marissa mouth "hot").

"Uh, yes. Indeed" The Professor said.

"That sucks!" Blue sulked.

"I don't think so." Marissa piped.

"Well, I do!" blue tried to say. However, he was interrupted by a loud siren.

"Oh, my!" The Professor exclaimed.

"What is it?" Blue wondered out loud

"It's the vortex alerter. It lets me know when Heartless, or Endless, or even humans appear. This is how we found you." The Professor told him

"What's coming through now?"

"I'm not sure, but-" He stopped. "-it's just outside." He revealed as he ran to the door…

I landed in front of a nice door, in a nice street, in a nice town. "Well, glad I'm alive." I looked around. "And on Earth."

The front door opened. And old man stood at it, followed by a girl with green hair, and a weird-looking boy…

"Not exactly" Blue said, without thinking.

_Why do I have a feeling it's not over? _I thought

'_Cause it's not…_ Blue thought back.

**There you have it! What do they mean by: **_it's not_**?!?!?!?!?!? And will the stupid telemarketer ever go away??! Find out Next… well, whenever I get around to writing the next chapter. Also, do you think:**

**Ald and Syowa like each other?**

**This was worth reading?**

**Axel is dead?**

**R&R PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!**


	7. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: Aoi117 does not own Kingdom Hearts**

**Disclaimer: Why is Aoi117 talking in third person? Who does Aoi117 think Aoi117 is? Bob Dole?!?!?!?!?!?!?**

**Disclaimer: Aoi117 greatly admires Bob Dole.**

"Sooo… Now what?" Mark asked. They had just witnessed Ald throw himself into the thing that was once half their school.

"WE GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Syowa yelled, obviously offended by his insensitivity.

"HOW!?!?!?!?!" Mark said, obviously offended by her sensitivity.

"Like this." Mr. Brown said, touching a black button on his cell phone. At the soft "_poing!,"_ a huge black helicopter appeared soundlessly over the horizon. It was moving unnaturally fast, and reached them in a few seconds. It landed with an almost inaudible _"thud"_. The door slid open, revealing what looked like… an Ikea showroom. It was the flying equivalent of a Bentley limousine. That is, except for the armored soldiers that spilled out. "Get in." He said, gesturing to the now empty helicopter.

"Who are you?" Everyone asked, all at once.

"I'd tell you," He said, donning a pair of Vietnam-style glasses. "But I'd have to kill you…"

Far of, on a hill, a certain _blue haired_ boy was screaming orders at Nobodies.

"So, Sorin, you seem pretty good at bossing these things around." Reiko commented as she kicked a Creeper (the little sword things).

"I guess." He only replied as a Dusk brought him a muffin.

"You guess?" Another girl said in the background. She stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing a black robe, and had pink hair. "Don't be modest. You're a natural. Second to… me." She said with a giggle.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Reiko asked, annoyed.

"Well, let's just say a certain _little flower-boy _turned out to have a _higher _purpose… but come." She opened a portal in mid-air. "You have _doors _to open"

Sorin liked the sound of that…

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"Wake up." Blue said to the mysterious boy (Aka: Me).

"Whoa… where am I? Who are you?" I asked Blue.

"In that order, some weird lab, and my name is Blue. Here, get up." Blue said.

"Thanks, but I can get out of a bed just fine." I replied. "No offense."

"Ah… Is the patient awake?" A weird voice asked. With a flourish, a strange man came into the room. He was wearing a lab coat, and he had a neatly trimmed beard. "Ah, excellent. Now we can interrogate him."

"Wait, interrogate me?!" I asked, feeling scared.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds…" Blue said.

I was led (pronounced "dragged") to a brightly lit room. There, one last person came in. She was about as tall as a 5' 8" tree and wore a bright green robe. What really got my attention was her green hair, which fell to her back. She walked up to a table and set up a computer. She pressed a button on the console and a circle appeared in the floor. The circle was followed by a hole, and a white chair rose out.

"Ok, I'm gonna ask you some questions. Answer correctly, and please, don't be a smart-ass."

"Why not?" I asked, being a smart-ass.

"I said so." She said with a smile. "By the way, my name is Rachael. Ok, first question: Where are you from?"

I thought about that one. "Toride City. Tiny little place few miles east of Tokyo."

"And that would be..." She wondered.

"In Japan… Well technically it's still America."

She sighed obviously exasperated. "What planet?"

"What? I mean, Earth."

"Next: Are you human?" She asked in a matter-a-fact tone

"Yeah. Why? Are you? What are you?!?!?!?" I asked, on the point of panicking.

"Next: What happened? How did you get here?"

"I- I- Threw myself into a black hole… you know- where they come out of…" I stated

"Good. Who are 'they'?"

"'They-'" I thought again. "-are Nobodies. The cloth things, right?"

"Yup…" She wrote something on her clipboard (which I hadn't noticed). I did notice the pen she had. It was normal enough, except that it was huge, 8 inches long, but thick, and had a quarter-sized button on it. _Oh my God… I've truly lost it… I'm thinking about weird pens…_ I thought.

"Last thing: Are you OK?" She asked me.

"WHAT?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?" I exploded. "I just fought one of The Organization's head honchos, from a _fictional_ video game- Yeah, FICTIONAL: NOT REAL!!!- And I jumped into a tear in time and space, landed in some freak land where people think it's a big deal to live on Earth and get out of bed!!!! AND YOU ASK ME IF I'M OK?!?!?!?!?!??!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?" I stopped, panting hard.

"Yeah, are you? I mean, are you hurt? Or anything emotional?" She said, with real, live concern in her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm- I'm fine. Sorry, I- I-"

"Don't worry. Blue was freaked out, too."

"Yeah, who is that guy, anyway?"

"Ask him yourself…" She remarked, mysteriously.

I walked down the hall into the kitchen. There, sitting at the coffee table, was the same guy who woke me up.

"So…" I said, casually making conversation. "How 'bout that Rachael?"

"Are you trying to make conversation?" He asked

… "You make this awkward." I informed him.

He laughed. It was obvious he had rarely laughed before-hand, but I could tell he was being honest. "Sorry, I'm getting used to being human."

"Getting used to being HUMAN?"

"Yeah…" He- or Blue, as he was named- explained everything. Apparently he was once a Heartless, and "The screwed up magnetic lines of the planet turned him into a human." Except…

"Wait, magnetism can't do that! Like, maybe tear you apart, atom-by-horribly-painful-atom, but not just transform you!" I said, suddenly remembering my 5th Grade science. At that moment, The Professor entered the room, got a bright red apple from a cylinder-type holder, and walked out.

"Yeah, I don't buy that either, but it's the best explanation he's got…" Blue said. "But how 'bout you?"

"Yeah, my name's Ald, my world got annihilated by clo- Nobodies, and I thought I was dead. But, man… I-" I stopped, and choose my words carefully. "I didn't even know Heartless and Nobodies existed…"

"What do you mean!?" Blue exclaimed.

"It's just-" I was cut of by the Professor, who ran into the kitchen. He wazs wearing a huge, heart-shaped chain around his neck. For the first time I noticed his tan skin. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't put my finger on it… "Ald, Blue. I have good news, bad news, and- well- come see." He wheezed as he ran back into the Interrogation Room.

Where the chair once stood was a huge computer instead. It was easily the size of a bed. The Professor typed on the normal looking keyboard, and a city appeared on the screen. A city I knew.

"Hey! That's Hollow Bastion!" I yelled, remembering what I read on the internet.

"Yes. Blue, we traced the signal of the warp point where we found you. You come from Hollow Bastion." The Professor said, averting Blue's eyes. "I couldn't find an available warp here, so you can't go back."

"Why would I want to?" Blue said calmly

The Professor sighed. "Never mind" He said and muttered something about "no point in telling you if you don't already know". I could hear, but Blue did.

"What? You- you know something?" Blue said, excited.

"Do you, Professor?" Rachael said, appearing at the doorway. She had a basket of weird golden berries under her arm.

"…No…" He said at last. Blue calmed down and looked disappointed.

"As for you, Ald…" The Prof. continued. "We found Earth."

My heart stopped beating.

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"So, where are we going?" Carlos asked as they rode in the super-copter.

There were ten people in all: Mark, Marisol, Kiyoye, Kiyoko, Sharon, Ernie Carlos, Lily, Syowa, and the mysterious Mr. Brown.

"I had a recording ready… gets tiring to talk so long at my age…" Mr. Brown said with a chuckle.

"You wouldn't know from sitting in his class." Syowa remarked.

"Here it is! I have to talk to the pilot, this tape will explain everything" He said as he went into the cockpit. A few seconds later, the lights dimmed and a voice began talking.

It went like this:

My name T. Townsend Brown. I was born in the year 1889, AD. You maybe wondering, 'If he's so old, what's he still doing?'. This is what.

I was living in New York when the United States government found me in 1946. It was the end of WWII, and the beginning of the Cold War. They wanted me to work on a project to create a force field around ships and planes. It was completely defensive. Or so I thought…

When the Project was complete, we launched. We hoped to usher in a new age, where there would be no fear of bombs… or of invasion… We would rule a world of peace. New York, London, Paris. All a few hours away at the time. We hoped we could even cut the fabric of the universe, and "go between", or teleport, as it became known. Instead, we "misplaced" the cruiser we were using, and "found" it miles away. What we found isn't important, however. What found us; that matters.

Creatures called "Endless", beings made of pure light, spilled out of the tear. They were innocent things. Or so we thought. It turns out that they were looking for a new home… by turning our universe into "Kingdom Hearts", their old one. So we shoved them back. We hoped they were gone. We hoped wrong.

30 years ago, we discovered that they were back. This time, we had help. A king came from his world to assist us. He told us to refer to him simply as "The King". We didn't ask why. That is, until 8 years ago. Our probe to Mars found new life forms. They were not Endless, but _Heartless_. The king explained that there was more. Nobodies; the dead husk left over when a person was turned into an Endless or Heartless. That's right, these things used to be people. All three were headed to Earth. Why? (The voice chuckled) "Humans are ripe" The King told us. He revealed the date of their invasion, 2012; he helped us make weapons to fight them when they came; we even came up with a plan of attack, The Redecker Plan, to "take back the planet" and "take the fight to them".

"Think this sounds like some video game, right?" The voice concluded. "Well, that's the cover-story…" The guys in the copter were a little more than stunned. A lot more.

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"This is what we've got." The Prof. said as he touched a button on the computer. The screen zoomed to a map of Earth, then to the Americas, resting over a star labeled "New York"

Suddenly, a voice yelled out. I jumped, startled by the yelling.

"COME ON!!!" The voice yelled. It had a distinct, New Yorker accent. It continued "You've gotta help us out, chief! Were runnin' the works, but nothin's hitting these guys!" The link broke, and the map moved over to Paris. This one had a French accent.

"This is Foxtrot-Uncle-Chris-Kelly! Our position is… Screw our position!!! Get us out!!! Oh no… Not the fat things!!!" The link went dead, like my spirits. The Prof. glared at Blue, who seemed painfully conscious of this. The map moved at last, to Toride City. My home.

"Sh-! Come on, frag 'em!" This one yelled

"Sikes!" Another broke through.

"I know! Listen…" The first voice said "I don't know who's out there. Government, aliens, I don't care if you're Superman! HELP US!!!" The link seared. I winced as men and women screamed in the background.

The link was terminated. I was stunned. Rachael and Blue looked at me with concern.

"I- I-… I gotta step outside…" I said.

Outside, I was surprised to find two things. 1) It wasn't cold. Even though it was the dead of night, it was not freezing, like Earth nights. 2) The stars. I glanced up, and saw millions and millions of stars. They were closer than anywhere else. It was… Cool.

"You know, I like you better" A voice said.

"Huh? Oh, hi Blue. What do you mean you like me better?" I said in confusion.

"Wow. You didn't even notice." He looked up. "I am a Heartless, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. But, you're cool." I said.

"The Professor doesn't think so…"

"So? Screw him. It doesn't matter." I said "I mean…" I looked up again.

"What? What is it?"

"We should go out there…" I said, letting my imagination run wild. "I mean, we have Keyblades! We can go out there and fix this mess!"

"I don't know…"

"What do you mean? You gotta believe!" I crossed my arms. "We can have an adventure!"

"Hey- Whoa!!!" Rachael fell through as I yanked on the door.

"Hey, are you alright?" Blue asked, helping her up.

"I'm fine! But, you can't leave! There's nothing out there!" She said, distress streaming from her eyes in the form of tears.

"Isn't there?..." The Prof. suggested mysteriously.

"I have a friend," He continued. "In Hollow Bastion. He can help you, Blue. As for you, Ald, he has been working on a crystallized refractor matrix."

"Which will do… What exactly?" I asked with anticipation.

"It might take you home, and might help you 'fix this mess'." He explained. "Come inside. Quickly."

Inside, I saw a table. Laid on it were two new pairs of jeans, both dark blue. They looked uncomfortably tight. Two shirts, one white, one blue were also laid out.. Guess which one was mine? (white)

"Sweet! I'm gonna look like L, from Deathnote!" I said in excitement.

"Who?" Blue asked

"Never mind." I said. "Wait, will I go barefoot, too?" I asked, concerned for my foot safety.

"No, in fact, here are your shoes now." He said, taking notes on a pad.

Rachael came in, holding two cardboard boxes. The looked perfectly normal. What they contained was not normal. Although they looked kind of like my normal shoes, they hade a metallic olive sheen to them. The soles were guarded by metal, and instead of laces, they had buckles. The bottom looked more like concrete than rubber.

"Whoa… these are cool!" Blue exclaimed, having already donned his new clothes.

"Uh… Can I change in the bathroom?" I asked Rachael.

"Uhhhh… Yeah, um, go ahead" she said.

After I returned, everyone was in the kitchen. They were sitting at the table.

"All right. Now you have newer, durable clothes. These are not regular clothes. They will heal you as you travel. This is for two reasons. One, you will run out of items. Two, you won't be able to use magic." The Professor told us.

"What? Why? That makes no sense!" Blue practically yelled.

"Because…" The Professor, obviously offended by his sensitivity, began. "Our S2 Engines have been turned off. That is why I can't let you use any Gummi ships. You will travel using The Corridors of Light. They are safer to travel, but you must repair the Engines if you are to get to Hollow Bastion."

"How do we fix them? Where are they? Are we like, powerless?" I asked, worried

"You don't need much. Wire. A metal pipe. A power source. They are located in Twilight Town. And no, you are not powerless. You have Drives. You both get one. Ald, you're familiar with Valor form, right?"

"Yeah." I said

"Good. You will use a similar form. It is called Basic Form." He said.

"What?!? That's a terrible name!" I retorted

"That doesn't matter. You can attack, and you will use magic later on. Blue, you were once a Heartless, so your drive form will mimic common Heartless attacks." The Professor continued.

"Hmph. Blue's is cooler." I continued.

"Heh, sometimes it's good to be a Heartless." Blue chided me.

"Be careful. Both of you could Drive into a type of Anti-Form… and, no, Ald. Don't do it on purpose. Now, I've opened up a random portal outside. From there, you'll take it on your own. Now… Am I forgetting something?" He asked Rachael.

"The contacts." She reminded him.

"Ah, yes." He reached in to his pockets and pulled out two silvery cases. In each was a pair of normal-looking contacts. "Ald, you've used a Keyblade, am I right?"

"Yeah. We both have." I said.

"They have a system called Reaction Commands. To you they will seem only as reflexes. But these will allow you to "see" other's health, Drive, and later, magic." He went on.

"Ok. So we got these new clothes. We got Keyblades, powers, and some goals." I reviewed.

"Yes. Your goals are: 1) Fix the S2 magic Engines; 2) Get to Hollow Bastion; 3) Find the leaders of the Endless." The Professor told us.

"The Endless. Those are the light guys, right?" I asked.

"Yes. Very mysterious. Very powerful." His words made us tremble. "Once you finish those things, you can go home."

"Yeah? Just like that?" I asked, astounded.

"Yes." He said. "Now, Rachael packed you some food and munny." He handed us a blue back pack. "Both of your things are in there."

He seemed to take a breath. His next words were heavy and sounded recited by memory. "You are about to embark on a long hard journey. You may panic at some points, but even so, never give up."

Next, Rachael appeared. "Well, it's been fun to have you here guys. If you ever need to come back, just remember: You always have a home here." She said. Personally, I was touched, but Blue and the Professor looked at each other. I could tell that they would have gladly killed each other at that point.

"Yeah, thanks." I returned to the heartfelt moment. "AND I'M SURE BLUE FEELS THE SAME." I said loudly.

The Professor broke the stare. "There is a path into another world outside. Be careful." He bid us farewell as he opened the door…

"Well, this is it! Our big adventure! We're out to save the world, and nobody can stop us!!!" I yelled into the dawn…

"Come one, there's the path." Blue pointed to a shining point at the end of the road.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and three of those Blurs appeared. This time, they had company. There was a hooded thing about 4 feet tall with, of all things, an arm cannon. We brought out our Keyblades, and suddenly, the arm cannon thing slid far away and opened fire. I raised up the Keyblade to try and block the fire, but I twisted around instead and hit one Blur. I looked back toward the cannon guy. The shots felt kinda like a massage on those chairs in the malls, you know, the ones that hurt a lot after a few seconds and then the old lady comes and tells you to get of 'cause "she's a senior citizen" and your just a kid and she's embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend, but in short, it was not pleasant.

_Come on Reaction, kick in…_ I thought. However, what did "kick in" was a Blur. Blue came around and killed it.

"I have an idea. You distract it, I kill it!" He yelled over the deafening roar of the cannon.

"NO! I'll kill it!" I yelled back as ran up to it. _Then_ the Reaction activated. The Professor may have creeped me out, but he was right. It was like a reflex. I noticed its hood, so I pulled it down on its invisible face. It shot wildly, until Blue came back and pounded it into submission.

"Show off." He complained.

"Look whose talking- Whoa!!!" I screamed as something, not sure what, pushed us in to the portal-thing-of-light…

"Are they gone?" Rachael said.

"Yes." The Professor said as he came back inside.

"Did you give them the map of where they are going…?" She inquired.

"Of course…" He said mysteriously

_Hmm… what's going on?_ Rachael wondered as the white haired man went into the interrogation room.

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Riku walked down the brand new service road in Twilight Town. The real Twilight Town had no such road, and Riku wondered where he was exactly.

"Do you like it? Namine worked _so _hard to please you…" A dark voice in the background said.

"SHOW YOURSELF!!!" Riku screamed.

At last, the _thing _stepped out. He had armor, head to toe, which cackled with lightning. It was blacker than the darkest of all nightmares except for the edges, which were highlighted a terrible, uncomfortable white, that made you feel as if you were being made fun of, and the whole world laughed at your misfortune at having met such a being. It was so horrible that the last fool who tried to recount its power died instantly, so I can only give you a heavily censored version of what Riku saw.

"JUBRAEON!!!" Riku lifted his Keyblade. Jubraeon simply walked. Riku was unconscious before he hit the ground.

"I have plans for you… old friend." He said.

**Two words: OH. CRAP.**


End file.
